Getting Off the Roller-Coaster Ride

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
—Thomas Merton

Most of us say we want to have peace in our lives. We want peace and joy, but we don’t act like it. Instead we live our lives as if we are on a roller-coaster vacillating between the highs and lows and feeling as if something is wrong when we do find that we are in a place of peace.

When we are in the midst of feeling a lot of joy we know that it won’t last forever so when change comes, and it always does, we don’t need to be distraught and get depressed. Just like when we are down and out about something we must remember that this too shall pass and something will come along to bring us joy.

When we get off the roller-coaster ride that many of us have spent a great portion of our lives on, we may not find peace to be a place of comfort. We may think something is wrong with us because we just don’t feel too much of anything. However, not to worry, because more than likely if we’re active and living a full life but not having all the highs and lows that we have grown accustomed to we probably have found peace.

When life if full of intensity and stress it’s usually full of anger and pain. Living a life on the edge may be fun at times, the highs are great, but the lows are not so much fun. A more level-headed lifestyle can bring just as much happiness without falling into the depth of despair when we fall off the high.

Balance, peace, and harmony may not feel very exciting, but they are the best places to be.

Good Energy

“Our mental and emotional diets determine our overall energy levels, health and well-being more than we realize. Every thought and feeling, no matter how big or small, impacts our inner energy reserves.”
—Doc Childre

Who we spend time with, how we use our time, and what we think about are what affects a great portion of our lives. If we control others or let them control us we suffer. When we spend time with people who have negative outlooks or gossip constantly, we’ll walk away from each encounter feeling down and icky.

We can spend time on positive things: reading uplifting books, helping others, meditating, praying, or exercising. In doing these things we will not only have more energy, but we’ll feel better mentally and physically.

Stress and negativity bring us down and zap our energy. Just recall when you’ve spent time with someone whose life is full of drama, or someone who talks bad about everyone they can think of. How do you feel when you walk away from that? Then think about times when you’ve been around someone who is full of joy, or think of a time when you did volunteer work. You most likely walked away from those interactions with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

We can choose who we spend time with in our free moments. And in those times when we are close to negativity because of work or some other obligation, we can choose how much of that to take on us and with us.

When given a choice to involve our time in negative or positive thoughts and energy, choosing the positive will go a long way in keeping us healthy mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Take the high road when given a choice and you will find life easier and lighter.

Emotional Stability

“Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf.”
—Jonatan Mårtensson

We all have good days and bad days and many days that fall in between. Sometimes they are triggered by events, or other times by weather or physical changes, and even skipping a meal or losing sleep can cause us to get out of sync within our own emotional status.

When we have one of those days where nothing seems to go right, or when we are suffering from negative emotions, we need to remember that we will be okay. We can stop and pray or meditate to try to focus on what is right and also to find peace and serenity. Maybe we need to do something different if possible with our day, but often we are at work or handling some other responsibility and we just can’t walk away.

Playing into how bad things are won’t make them better. Thinking positively and staying calm will help. We can ride the wave of “poor me” or we can jump on our surf board and find some joy or peace in the struggle of the day.

All of us have days filled with internal turmoil and days that are full of joy. We tend to remember those less than fun days more than those that are easy and full of peace and calm. But we have both.

When grieving a loss or some other pain is part of our day we can remember that with time things tend to feel better; we won’t feel as raw and vulnerable as time passes. We may feel as if we have been sliced open at times and that we cannot make it through the next moment, but we can and we do.

Remember that life does not follow an even and steady path. There are peaks and valleys and everything that falls between. We can learn to keep or emotions in check whether we are on the high or low end of the spectrum.

We can’t always choose what the day will bring, but we can choose how we react to it.